Carmoney

I'm all for assisting truly disabled shooters in any way possible. However, from what I see in parking lots everywhere I go, there seem to be an awful lot of people who came of age during the "Me Generation" (i.e. former filthy hippies from the late '60s and early '70s) who think that reaching the age of 60 automatically entitles them to handicapped hang-tags and the closest parking spaces.

Probably broke the pivot pin off the hand. I've had it happen twice, both on old 25-2s.

Federal ammo does indeed use Federal primers. But they don't seat the primers enough for optimal ignition efficiency. My 625s are specifically tuned to have the lightest possible DA pull with well-seated Federal primers only. They are 100% reliable with my handloaded ammo that has hand-seated Federal primers, but will sometimes misfire with Federal factory ammo. In order to work with Federal factory stuff, the primers need to be re-seated with a hand-priming toola (which is no big deal to do). If I want my guns to run with Federal factory ammo straight from the box, I could make that happen easily enough by simply increasing the mainspring tension a little bit. Any good revolversmith can tune the action to whatever ammo you specify. If you want to run Federal factory stuff straight from the box, just inform the 'smith in advance and it should be no problem.

Yeah, that's one reason why I strongly discourage people from disassembling their extractor assemblies unless there is a specific reason to do so. Did the new extractor rod make the resistance in the trigger pull go away? If so, a little wobble won't hurt anything. Go shoot. Does the cylinder spin freely when the cylinder is open? If so, it might be a bent or misaligned yoke/crane. Does the cylinder spin freely when the trigger is pulled back just far enough to disengage the cylinder stop from the notches? If so, there may be an endshake issue that is allowing the cylinder to rub the rear of the barrel when it gets heated up. That can usually be resolved by installing a .002" endshake bearing. If it appears the extractor rod is indeed causing a binding problem, try Granderojo's suggestion above, making sure the extractor is not overtightened. Before doing that, assemble it once without the cylinder and look closely at the extractor barrel as you tighten it down to ensure it hasn't been cracked.

My son Sam shot a Model 10 when he first starting competing at age 11-12. He later switched to a 646 and then fairly quickly moved up to a 25-2. None of the gear carries over to a 625.

I agree with Matt that inhalation of vaporized lead styphnate (from primers) can be a vector of lead exposure--that's why shooters with high lead levels are nearly always people who shoot (or work) at indoor ranges regularly. There is little or no risk presented by shooting outside. Revolver shooters tend to get a lot of junk on their hands--keep your hands away from your face to prevent accidental ingestion of fine particles of lead. That's about it.

OK, I don't want to be offensive here, but lead poisoning from carrying .22 cartridges around in your front pocket? Losing a left testicle because of lead that entered through the genitals? Lead entering through "anal tissues"? That's just crazy talk.

On a tough long shot on steel, I would always rather roll through a nice DA pull than risk yanking the trigger in SA mode. Of course, it's hard to thumb-cock without a hammer spur. And hammer spurs are for midnight cowboys.

.....and it should make us really appreciate the world of 1911/2011 gunsmiths who specialize in making competition guns that are a whole lot more gun for a whole lot less money.

Having seen the feature on Shooting USA and watched how they build the 1911s in Baer's shop, I sorta disagree. They really are custom guns (everything is hand-fit and even the checkering is cut by hand)--the only difference is they are built by a number of sets of hands, instead of just one person. Baer has figured out efficiencies that allow him to keep the price pretty reasonable. And that's your opinion. The general consensus in the "1911 world" that I've found is that custom is built for a specific individual, typically by one master gunsmith. Baer, Brown, RRA, Wilson, Nighthawk, Guncrafter, etc. are all considered semi-customs. Now, many features, finishes, etc. are arguably the same. The difference IMO isn't that big, but I have a "built up" custom, not a full-house build, which is entirely different. IMO, custom 1911's are ones that are built in the hands of masters, such as: Harrison, Yost, Bailey, Burton, Rodgers, Rogers, Erickson, Joe C, Williams, Chen, CT Brian, Christiansen, Morris, etc. etc. etc. I understand what you're saying, I just thought you might have have misunderstood what actually goes on at Baer's shop. For example--I certainly thought the checkering on Baer's pistols was cut by machine. Nope--it's all done by hand, mostly by one particular guy. Same with fitting the slide to the frame. Same with fitting the barrel. Same with fitting the fire control mechanism. So if you discount the fancy little cosmetic stuff that is done "for a specific individual," what is really different? From a practical perspective? It's still primarily a matter of taking high-quality components and fitting/assembling them properly. You'll have to admit that in today's "1911 world" we have largely moved away from the days when the first-generation pistolsmiths (like Austin Behlert, as the first example that comes to mind) would use a torch and file to make or radically modify parts by hand. We have so much available in terms of high-quality 1911 components that is simply no longer practical or cost-effective. So today's "masters" are primarily parts assemblers--not there's anything wrong with that. But truth be told, many of the names you mention are charging really exorbitant amounts of money for the fancy cosmetics. It's not uncommon to see custom 1911s offered for sale that cost $4,000-6,000, and some of those guns are really nothing more than basic carry guns with Novak sights! Check this out and see the prices people are apparently paying for Yost guns (not trying to pick on anyone in particular--this is just an example): http://www.heirloomprecision.com/forsale/pistols.shtml $6,300 for a refit Colt Govt. Model with a Kart barrel and fairly basic custom work? Really? I can't help but think that somewhere out there, P.T. Barnum is laughing at that.

It's easy for people to get a little hysterical on the lead issue. We have had several other threads on that topic elsewhere on BE. Many of the mentioned "hazards" are not really hazards at all. As a general rule, lead is only absorbed when it is ingested. It's generally not going to be absorbed through your skin, and it's certainly not going to wick up through your hair. If you're truly interested in getting real answers to a medical question, this is not the place. Find a real medical information resource.

11k+ rounds? We have people here that put 11k+ rounds through a pistol in a matter of weeks!!

Having seen the feature on Shooting USA and watched how they build the 1911s in Baer's shop, I sorta disagree. They really are custom guns (everything is hand-fit and even the checkering is cut by hand)--the only difference is they are built by a number of sets of hands, instead of just one person. Baer has figured out efficiencies that allow him to keep the price pretty reasonable.

Yes, you're missing the fact that the slot is for the O/L10/R Nats, not for Revo in particular. They don't care which of those options you choose. Most of the shooters who get the slots will be running Open guns. I'm not sure this year's Nationals will allow walk-on entries. One of my local shooting friends has been on the wait list and still hasn't received confirmation that he will make it in. Demand for Nationals in Vegas this year seems pretty high. I am disappointed that more people haven't made the effort to shoot Revo at Nationals this year. Maybe we didn't talk it up enough when the sign-up process was underway. Most of those who are shooting are the hard-core regulars who shoot every year. Most of the top wheels will be there.

I use and recommend using a regular .357 627 with short colts and Hearthco moonclips.

I ran a CR Speed for several years, and after spilling my gun on the ground a couple times, I switched to the Bladetech DOH. I'm happy with it, it's much more secure and darn near as fast. For stationary steel matches I still use the speed rig (partly because my steel revo has a 6.5" barrel), but for IPSC/USPSA I'm going to stay with the kydex.

I've never been tested. But a high lead level would help explain some of my behavioral issues.

I love kicking all kinds of Limited and Open ass with my 625!

They generally drop in, although sometimes the SDMs are a little oversized and need the corners filed in order to have enough clearance to pop them into place.

It does look like it takes the "classic" interchangeable sights. I have a first-run 627PC in the safe....I'll try to remember to check whether it has the interchangeable sight system when I get home tonight. (Unless somebody else knows for sure.)

His sons are now running the business.

Dave C. is the man when it comes to the truly older S&Ws--the top-break and tip-up guns and so forth. However, for refinishing an older--but still modern--S&W revolver, the factory would be a really good place to send it, or any bluing operation that does high-quality polishing and bluing work. I'd sorta hate to see you have it bead-blasted or parkerized if the surface isn't already pitted. Leave that for the guns that are too far gone to be successfully polished and reblued.

Yeah...uh....that's going to be an awkward phone call. Walter Birdsong died two years ago.

The successful shooters almost always wind up gravitating to 5" (or longer) tubes on their USPSA revolvers. The extra sight radius and the additional recoil-dampening effect are the main reasons.

Memphis is always a great match, but (at least for now) it's not the USPSA Nationals. USPSA Nationals is still the premiere event of the USPSA Revo Division shooting season--it's the big show!